On Sept. 11, 2001 we vowed never to forget. Now, 15 years later, the people of Maspeth honored all those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks, rescue efforts, and due to health complications from being at Ground Zero.
The community gathered at Maspeth Memorial Park on Friday, Sept. 9 at 11 a.m., along with members of the NYPD and FDNY for the memorial ceremony.
Kenneth Rudzwick of Maspeth Federal Savings Bank, who hosted the ceremony, announced that a new name would be added to the memorial this year. Firefighter Matthew E. Barnes grew up in Maspeth and was honored on Friday with a permanent marker at the memorial.
There was a reading of the names and placement of the flags into the memorial site for those from Queens who lost their lives 15 years ago.
The area’s local elected officials including Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, state Senator Joseph Addabbo and a representative from Councilwoman Grace Meng’s office were on hand to show their support for the community.
“Today we are stronger than ever,” Crowley said. “Those terrorists who attacked us, they wanted to make us weaker, but they did just the opposite because when we as a nation get challenged, we become stronger.”
“Whether we are talking about it 15 years from now or 100 years from now, we will never forget,” Addabbo said. “And because of the efforts of people like Ken [Rudzwick] and Maspeth Federal, and all of you here today, we will never forget what happened on 9/11. We will never forget the lives that we lost, and because of them, and we honor them today and we remember them and their legacy that they left behind and how we are a much stronger nation today because of their sacrifice.”
